Burned by Her Devotion (Rogue Vows Book 2)

by Melinda Leigh

  “If we can find her, we’ll get it back for you.” Kenny put his notebook away.

  Carly felt bad for Eric, but her mind was on Alex. The girl was getting ready to hunker down and wait for her mother, who was headed up the Oregon coast.

  The poor kid.

  Pity swelled in Carly. Alex didn’t want to believe her mother had left her behind.

  On the screen, Eric exited the office. The girl spun, her gaze darting around the store. He started toward her, and she fled, the backpack still open. Overloaded with gear, it was amazing she could walk, let alone run. But she was shockingly fast. As she bolted out the door, an MRE package fell out of her bag.

  Eric crossed his arms and shook his head. “She’s quick. I’ll give her that.”

  “Can you make a copy of that for me?” Kenny asked.

  “Of course.” Eric slipped a flash drive into the computer’s USB port and copied the recording.

  Kenny called the search team and updated them with the confirmed sighting of Alex in town. The teams in the woods behind the foster home would be called in. Carly and Kenny drove around the edges of town for a while in case Alex came back into town. But Carly’s instinct told her the child had run. Alex was as timid as a mule deer. No doubt desperation had driven her into town. She’d avoid human contact if at all possible.

  “Where do you think she is?” Kenny asked as they cruised down a side street.

  Carly scanned the small houses of the residential blocks. The early-evening sun cast slanted shadows across the sidewalk. “I don’t know.”

  Frustration filled her. How in the world was she supposed to protect Alex if she couldn’t find her? What if Cyndee came back? What if she didn’t? What if Toby Black ran into Alex? No one knew how dangerous he was; he’d confessed to a pretty cold-blooded murder.

  The day’s heat was fading, and Carly’s stomach growled. She’d skipped lunch. Alex was probably hungry too, and the few MREs she’d stolen wouldn’t keep her going for long.

  Kenny’s phone played “Jailhouse Rock.” He answered it, his posture perking up. “Nell said a little girl just stole some groceries.”

  It was no surprise that Nell had called Kenny directly and skipped dispatch.

  They drove to Nell’s. The little grocery store sold all the necessities from cat litter to milk, but it was the fried chicken that kept her customers happy. The scent made Carly’s stomach growl the second she lowered the window outside the shop. Dinnertime had come and gone.

  She bet the smell of the chicken had drawn Alex in as well.

  Nell was outside, pacing the sidewalk. She gestured toward the narrow street that ran alongside her shop. “She went that way!”

  Kenny drove the length of the block and stopped at the dead end. Twenty feet of green ended in a skinny trail that ran into the woods. They got out of the car and jogged across the weeds.

  Kenny pointed at the ground, where dual tire tracks cut through the dandelions and clover. “She went up the trail.”

  They followed the tracks for fifty feet. A stream bisected the path. A small wooden bridge arced over the water and rock. Beyond the stream the tracks led up a slope and disappeared into the woods. They walked up the trail, eyes on the ground, ears alert for the whine of an engine.

  The trail opened onto a small clearing. In the center someone had dug a fire pit. Charred wood and ashes filled the hole. Beer bottles, water bottles, and fast-food wrappers littered the ground. The ATV tracks skirted the clearing, then disappeared up the trail on the opposite side.

  “Locals or out-of-towners?” Kenny asked, shaking his head at the mess.

  “Could be either. Kids come out here to drink beer,” Carly said.

  Small Town Rule #4: The woods is a perfectly acceptable location for a party.

  “Not you, I hope?” Kenny raised a brow, as if he couldn’t believe such an upstanding citizen and the mother of an eight-year-old had ever shown a wild streak.

  “Of course not,” she said. Why destroy his illusions? She didn’t add that she, her sister, and their friends had preferred O’Rourke’s Lake for their teenage indiscretions.

  “Do you see any more ATV tracks?” Kenny asked.

  “No.”

  As the trail rose, the ground became rockier. They scouted another fifty feet. Kenny switched on his flashlight. With the tall trees blocking the setting sun, darkness smothered the forest.

  They continued to a fork in the trail. Carly stopped and tilted her head. “I don’t hear the engine, and the ground is too rocky here. I don’t see any tracks.”

  “It’s been fifteen minutes since Nell called,” Kenny said, scanning the woods. A rabbit hopped along the trail, in no particular hurry. “She’s long gone, and we’ll never catch her on foot.”

  They trooped back to the car and drove back to the grocery. The aroma of fried chicken wafted from the opened door. Inside the store Carly’s stomach growled louder.

  “No luck?” Nell asked.

  “Sorry.” Kenny shook his head.

  Behind the counter Nell filled two bags with chicken and biscuits.

  “Can you describe the shoplifter?” Kenny asked.

  Nell held a hand in front of her, level with her own chin. “She was about this tall, blonde, and thin. I assume it’s that little girl who went missing this morning.”

  Carly showed Nell a photo of Alex. “Is this her?”

  “I didn’t see her face.” Nell shook her head. “Just the back of her as she ran out the door. But that could be her.”

  Carly didn’t need to ask if Nell had a security camera. She didn’t. Nell still recorded her inventory with a pencil and paper.

  “What did she take?” Kenny asked.

  “A small bucket of chicken and toilet paper.” Nell rolled the tops of the bags closed. “I chased her outside. She had the four-wheeler parked behind the dumpster. She stuffed everything into a backpack and took off for the woods.”

  Nell handed Carly and Kenny each a bag of chicken and a bottle of water. “On the house. Go find that little girl. I don’t like to think of her out there in the dark, alone. There are bears out there, and that killer fellow is still on the loose.”

  Carly used the restroom at Nell’s before getting back in the car. Kenny had already devoured his dinner when she slid into the passenger seat.

  “Where to?” Kenny wiped his hands on a napkin.

  “I don’t know.” Carly made quick work of the chicken and biscuits and dug a napkin out of her bag. “Do you have a map of Solitude?”

  Kenny pulled a map up on his computer.

  “Here’s Heidi’s house.” Carly pointed at the screen. “Alex got gas here at the truck stop, then worked her way into town.” The dots traveled in a nearly straight line. Carly continued the line with her finger. “I know where she’s going.” Her finger stopped in a green area not far from the campground where Chase Ryan had been killed. “This is where Cyndee’s Airstream trailer was parked.”

  Kenny scratched his head. “But the trailer was impounded.”

  “Alex doesn’t know that.”

  Kenny started the car. “Might as well go and check. But we’d better hurry. We’re almost out of daylight.”

  And then what?

  What if they couldn’t find her? Carly tried to tell herself that Alex would be all right overnight in the woods, but she couldn’t do it.

  Kenny drove out of town to the rural highway and turned down a narrow county road. He slowed the car’s speed to a crawl at the intersection with a rutted dirt road.

  “Stop here,” Carly said. “I don’t want to spook her. If she hears the car, she’ll run. And we’d never catch that four-wheeler in the woods.”

  Not to mention the possibility that Alex could run into a tree tying to steer that big machine in the dark.

  Kenny parked on the side of the road. He called their location in to the dispatcher before they slipped out of the car. They closed the doors as softly as possible. The dirt was silent underfoot.
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  Halfway down the road, Carly stopped to listen. The Airstream had been parked illegally in a small clearing at the end of the dirt lane. The woods were empty and, except for the chirp and buzz of insects, quiet.

  Wait. Not completely quiet.

  Something rustled in the underbrush, and Carly heard the metallic zing of a zipper.

  She and Kenny exchanged a look. She’d been right. Alex was here.

  Carly leaned close to Kenny and whispered in his ear, “Let me go ahead. If she sees your uniform . . .”

  “But I’m keeping you in sight,” Kenny whispered back.

  He dropped behind as Carly forged ahead, comfortable in the woods after a lifetime in them. The scent of wood smoke drifted to her nose. Fifty yards down the lane, she rounded a bend. The dirt road ended in a clearing about twenty feet in diameter. In the middle Alex sat on a sleeping bag in front of a tiny campfire. Her head snapped up as Carly stepped into the clearing. Alex jumped to her feet. Her legs tangled and she fell onto a hip.

  Carly lifted her hands in a surrender gesture. “Please don’t run, Alex.”

  Alex stood on shaky legs. In the firelight, tears glistened on her cheeks. She wiped a sleeve across her face.

  “I just want to talk.” Hands raised in front of her, Carly inched forward.

  For every step Carly moved forward, Alex stepped back.

  Carly stopped. “It’s all right, Alex. No one is going to hurt you.”

  The girl’s gaze darted left and right. She turned her head to check the trail at her back, as if someone were out to get her.

  “Everything’s going to be all right,” Carly assured her. She needed to get the girl talking. “Why did you leave Heidi and Dylan?”

  Alex faced Carly, but the toes of her tennis shoes were turned toward the trail, as if she wanted to trust, but also wanted to run. “I had to. My mom would have come. Last time I got put in a foster home, Mom set it on fire. I couldn’t let that happen to Heidi and Dylan. They’re too nice. And I couldn’t let the babies get burned up.”

  Carly’s heart ached. “Come with me. I’ll keep you safe.”

  “You don’t understand. She’ll find me, and she’ll hurt me. She always does.” More tears dampened Alex’s pale face. “She might hurt you too.”

  “It’ll be all right. Just come with me.” Carly held out a hand. “My husband is a policeman. He can protect you.”

  But Alex shook her head. “No. She told me to wait for her here, and I have to do what I’m told.”

  Pity flooded Carly as Alex’s whole body shook with fear. Alex had been told to wait in the trailer. Even though the trailer had been impounded, sheer terror and desperation had brought her back to the clearing. Even after all the horrors Carly had seen, the damage a parent would inflict on a child still astounded and sickened her. It was part of what drove her to help children like Alex, kids who’d been hurt by the very people who were supposed to protect them. “Your mom isn’t in Solitude anymore.”

  Alex’s eyes opened wide.

  “She was seen hours from here, on the coast, last night.”

  “No.” Alex shook her head. “You’re making that up.”

  “It’s true. She stopped at a gas station and the surveillance camera captured her image.” Carly held out a hand. “You’re safe. Come with me, please.”

  Alex took a hesitant step toward Carly.

  No doubt the child was thinking about how unpredictable her mother was. On her birth certificate, Alex’s name had been Kylie, but her mother had changed it to pay homage to Chase’s TV detective character. The woman had serious psychological issues.

  “It’s all right,” Carly encouraged. “I’ll help you.”

  Come on. You can do it.

  “You little bitch.” A female voice came from Carly’s right. She spun.

  A small woman stepped out from behind a tree. Dressed like a Hollywood pirate in tight black pants, a black blouse, and black boots, she pointed a gun directly at Alex.

  Cyndee Sykes.

  “Haven’t I warned you about not doing what you’re told?” Cyndee asked.

  Shock rippled through Carly. But why was she surprised? Her instincts had been right from the beginning. Regardless, she couldn’t let Alex get hurt. She glanced at the child. Alex’s lip trembled.

  “Answer me when I ask you a question!” Cyndee demanded.

  “No.” Carly stepped forward. Her heart pounded against her rib cage. How could any woman point a weapon at her own child? “Don’t hurt her.”

  Kenny, where are you?

  More tears rolled down Alex’s cheeks. She tore her gaze from her mother to Carly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. But I can’t do anything right.”

  “It’s not your fault.” Carly’s heart broke. No child should fear her own mother.

  Cyndee stepped up beside Alex, putting the gun to the shaking child’s temple. Wetness flooded the front of Alex’s pants. The poor child was so terrified her bladder had let loose.

  Panic rose in Carly’s throat, narrowing her throat to a straw. “She’s just a child. Let her go.”

  Cyndee scoffed. “She’s my kid, not yours, and I need her to help me with Toby.”

  “You have Toby?” Carly asked. Though in hindsight, it made sense in a sick and depraved way.

  “I do, but he’s such a whiner.” Cyndee rolled her eyes. “I almost wish I could just kill him now, but I still need him, unfortunately.”

  “You don’t need two hostages.” Maybe Carly could talk her into letting the child go.

  “No, but he can’t get around on his own.” Cyndee shook her head in regret. “He got injured in the accident, but he plays a key role in my grand finale.”

  Grand finale? That sounded ominous. Cyndee had already committed attempted murder, kidnapping, and arson. What would she consider grand?

  “We need to get to the cabin,” Cyndee announced. “It’s not far from here. Let’s move.”

  Carly’s gaze searched the darkness. Kenny must be out there.

  “If you’re looking for your cop friend, I took care of him,” Cyndee said in a smug voice.

  Every vein in Carly’s body went ice cold. “What did you do to him?”

  “Let’s just say he won’t be following us.” Cyndee gestured with the gun. “Tie her up, Alex.”

  Alex hesitated.

  “Do what you’re told!” Cyndee snapped. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a handful of plastic zip ties, and tossed one to her daughter. When Alex didn’t respond immediately, Cyndee shifted her aim to point the weapon at the center of Carly’s chest. “Do as I say or I’ll shoot her.”

  Trembling, Alex scrambled forward. She scooped the plastic strap off the ground and approached Carly.

  “Hands behind her back,” Cyndee directed. “Check her pockets. Toss her cell phone into the woods.”

  Alex did as she was directed.

  “It’s all right,” Carly said to Alex as the girl fastened the tie around her wrists, seized Carly’s pocketknife, and threw her phone into the trees.

  The girl backed away from Carly, mouthing, “I’m sorry.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  The tiny airfield was more field than airport. Seth parked on the packed dirt lot in front of the office. Inside the small building, a red-faced Aiden Tierney was arguing with an older man in khakis and a polo shirt behind the counter. Both men turned as Seth walked in.

  “I already told you I cannot take you to Portland today,” the man in khakis said. He must be a pilot.

  “Aiden Tierney?” Seth asked.

  Tierney was about forty, with slicked-back blond hair. Sweat beaded on his upper lip. His eyes flittered to the left, as if he was thinking about lying, but he said, “Yes.”

  “Detective Harding. Rogue County Sheriff’s Department.” Seth flashed his badge. “I need to ask you some questions.”

  The pilot disappeared into a back office.

  Despite the impressive efforts of a powerful window
air conditioner, sweat soaked through the armpits of Tierney’s shirt. “I need to get to a major airport. I need to get back to LA.”

  “What’s your hurry?”

  “Business.” Tierney scratched his nose, a classic tell of dishonesty.

  Liar.

  “Let’s talk outside.” Seth gestured toward the door. Making Tierney sweat harder seemed like a good idea. And Seth wanted a look inside the trunk of his rental car.

  “How much business do you have now that Chase is dead?” Seth pushed through the glass door and they stepped outside.

  Tierney swallowed. “He wasn’t my only client.”

  “Just your only major client.”

  “What do you want?” Tierney’s face went from red to flaming.

  “I’d like to see inside your car, for starters.”

  “You need a search warrant for that.” Tierney brushed a wrinkle from his sleeve. Arrogance rolled off him in waves like heat from blacktop.

  “I can smell alcohol on your breath. Were you drinking at Fletcher’s before you got behind the wheel?”

  “I had one beer.” Tierney crossed his arms over his chest.

  Seth shrugged. “I misplaced my Breathalyzer. We’ll have to go down to the sheriff’s office.”

  He’d be more than happy to add Tierney to the list of people getting booked this afternoon. If they were all sitting in holding cells, he didn’t have to worry about anyone leaving town until he figured out who had taken Toby.

  “Fine.” Tierney spit the words with venom. He dug the car key from his pocket and pressed the fob. The locks snicked open.

  “Trunk?”

  With a grunt he pressed another button. The trunk lid popped up. No Toby. Damn. Disappointment coursed through Seth. If Tierney didn’t have Toby, then why was he so nervous? Seth’s gaze landed on the window. Out back a yellow hangar sat behind the grassy runway. There were a few other outbuildings clustered around the hangar. Maybe Toby was close by, waiting for a coast-is-clear signal from Tierney. Could they be working together in some scheme that Seth hadn’t discovered yet?